Albany – State University of New York (SUNY) and City University of New York (CUNY) faculty recently delivered a joint letter to members of the State Senate and Assembly outlining their support for increased state investment in the university systems and a renewal of NYSUNY 2020.

"New York State could be the national leader in public higher education if it upholds its commitment to its citizens by increasing the funding of SUNY’s 64 campuses and CUNY’s 24 campuses," the letter states. "A failure to do so will place New York’s system of public higher education in jeopardy and erode the State’s promise to the citizens of the state."

The letter, signed by the SUNY and CUNY University Faculty Senates and the SUNY Faculty Council of Community Colleges, urges the Governor and Legislature to strengthen the state’s investment in public higher education by:

passing and implementing a renewal of the NYSUNY 2020 legislation;

increasing base funding to SUNY and CUNY community colleges; and

providing a true Maintenance of Effort to provide funding for mandatory cost increases.

A renewal of NYSUNY 2020 also has the support of the SUNY Student Assembly, the official student governance organization representing SUNY students. SUNY SA leadership is elected by their peers across the state, and the organization’s president, Binghamton Student Thomas D. Mastro, serves as a SUNY Trustee.

"The representatives of our 64 campuses came together last year to overwhelmingly pass a resolution supporting the renewal of NYSUNY 2020. In a vote of 59-4-1, we said loud and clear that we want fairness, equity, and predictability when it comes to money we spend on our education," said Mastro.

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher launched the Stand with SUNY campaign to secure increased state investment for the system in the upcoming 2016-17 New York State Budget. In addition to growing the Investment and Performance Fund, the goals of the campaign are to build base funding for all campuses and extend NYSUNY 2020.

About the State University of New YorkThe State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, with 64 college and university campuses located within 30 miles of every home, school and business in the state. In 2015–16, SUNY served nearly 1.3 million students, including nearly 600,000 in credit-bearing courses and programs and more than 700,000 through continuing education and community outreach programs. SUNY students and faculty across the state make significant contributions to research and discovery, resulting in nearly $1 billion of externally sponsored activity each year. There are 3 million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.